


tryna play it cool now

by peterneds



Series: fictober '19 [12]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: 5 + 1, Crushes, Falling In Love, Fictober 2019, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Kid Ned Leeds, Kid Peter Parker, M/M, Panic Attacks, Podfic Welcome, Slow Burn, Star Wars - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-20 22:10:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21063989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peterneds/pseuds/peterneds
Summary: "So," Ned begins, seemingly completely unaware of Peter's emotional whack-out. Peter doesn't know whether to be grateful or if he really wanted Ned to notice. "Should we meet in the library to get started later, or would you rather do it at one of our houses?"Hishouse!Peter can barely keep it together in school, what will happen if Ned comes into his house? He knows he's planning his own demise, knows it well, but he can't help it when he says, "We can meet in my apartment if that's cool."(If it'scool,Peter? Jesus, you need to get better at this.)or 4 times Peter and Ned almost touched, and the 1 time they finally did./title from 'crush' by tessa violet





	tryna play it cool now

**Author's Note:**

> written for the prompt: "Secrets? I love secrets."

Ned wears Star Wars shirts when Peter sees him on the bus, and he has a really cool backpack, and always wears weird hats. 

They sit next to each other most days, the ones where Peter’s not being driven by Ben or May. Where he wakes up earlier to make it to the bus stop as he stands in position, looking to the world like he’s preparing himself for battle when really he’s just thinking about science class. And Ned always slides to the window, without fail, no matter the day of the week or if Peter wasn’t there yesterday. He makes room and smiles invitingly at Peter when he scans the bus for an empty seat.

He wonders if he looks scared, wonders if Ned is being kind like how his mom taught him to be. How May teaches him to be. 

Peter likes Ned’s hats. He thinks they’re a little silly, even he can admit, but he likes that Ned doesn't seem to care about that. He likes that Ned doesn't seem to care much about what other people might be thinking of him. 

They’re on the bus home, approaching Peter’s stop. It always makes him feel funny, saying bye to Ned; like something’s pulling his heart down to his legs. Or like they’re magnets that are being pulled apart by force when he wants to pull them together. He doesn't know what it means. 

Ned always looks at him, hopeful and earnest when he asks, “See you tomorrow?”

Peter gets that funny feeling again, on the days when he has to say no. He likes sitting with Ned, likes talking to him over the hiss of the tires and shouts of other kids. And he likes driving with May, too, likes that they get to sing and dance and likes how she makes him laugh with a silly face while they’re at a red light, but he almost wishes he didn’t have to do that. To be able to always say yes, when Ned asked him that question. 

Peter says, “No,” instead, says, “driving tomorrow,” and tries not to let it show that he sees the way Ned’s face falls. It seems like something he wasn't supposed to notice. 

“Okay,” Ned says. Peter thinks he’s trying to hide the disappointment in his tone but it cuts deep, somewhere inside of him, when those words fall on his ears. “Day after tomorrow, then?”

Their hands are resting next to each other between them on the seat. They are so close - Peter could reach out just an inch and feel his skin. Or hug him goodbye. Touch his shoulder. He wants, and he doesn't understand why, but he wants. And it scares him.

“Day after tomorrow,” Peter says and reaches for his backpack instead.

* * *

A few months have passed and those bus rides turn into lunch periods spent together, study sessions at the library, and waiting with each other for pickup after school.

Peter didn't realize it then, but he and Ned are so similar, in their interests and mannerisms and humor. It feels good to be with someone who understands him so easily, to not have to feel weird for making a certain joke or liking a certain thing. He likes it a lot. In fact, he likes being with Ned better than he likes being with anyone else. 

They're sitting a few inches apart on the steps outside their school building, trading their Pokemon cards and talking about their upcoming science project.

"We get to pick our partners, right?" Ned asks as he begins to sort his cards.

"I hope so," Peter says. "I don't wanna get stuck with someone who doesn't do any work."

Ned laughs. "Yeah, me neither. Hopefully, we get to pick," he says in that voice that sounds like there's something else he wants to say but he won't, for some reason. 

Peter watches him from the corner of his eye. He feels like he has to, sometimes, like watching Ned the way he does is something that he should hide. He doesn't understand why, but he just follows the urge that he gets in the pit of his stomach whenever he's caught looking for too long. He opens his mouth to speak but he's interrupted by the loud honking of the bus horn at the curb. 

"That's me," Ned says wistfully. He shoves his stack of cards in his backpack quickly and slings it over one shoulder. He stands before Peter does and offers him a hand, but Peter is already up by the time he notices. Ned drops it quickly and hopes Peter doesn't comment on it. 

Peter doesn't. He notices but he keeps it to himself and says instead, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Right," Ned says as his voice gets carried away by the October wind. "See you, Peter!" he calls from the steps of the bus. 

"See you," Peter says softly even as the bus begins to drive away. It's there again - that want mixing with the same confusion that day on the bus. They had gotten even closer, this time, though. If only Peter had been looking at Ned just a second sooner, he'd have seen it in time. That hand outstretched for him makes him hopeful as much as it puzzles him. 

* * *

"Alright," their science teacher begins. "Partners will be in pairs for this project. Two to a team, you get to choose who you pair up with -" She's interrupted by the joyous cheers of about thirty students. "Quiet down or I'll change my mind," she threatens and is met with perfect silence. "Very good. You may find your partners and sit next to them to begin planning now."

Peter's head shoots up as his eyes search for a specific face. He and Ned hadn't been able to get seats next to each other in this class, because the seating went by alphabetical order of the last name of each student. Those stupid three letters - getting in the way of them again. 

He's shaken out of his thoughts by the sound of the chair next to him scraping across the linoleum floor. "Thank God she let us choose," Ned says as he sits down next to him.

"Huh," Peter says a little breathlessly as he looks at Ned. "You got here fast."

Ned plops his backpack down on the desk and brings out his notebook. "Well, I didn't want anyone stealing you from me."

_You from me_, Peter's head plays on a loop. Over and over and over. His heart feels a little funny at that. "Right," he says, and his eyes follow the movement of Ned's arm as he lays it across the back of Peter's chair. He _seriously _needs to get his act together before someone - or worse, Ned - notices. 

"So," Ned begins, seemingly completely unaware of Peter's emotional whack-out. Peter doesn't know whether to be grateful or if he really wanted Ned to notice. "Should we meet in the library to get started later, or would you rather do it at one of our houses?"

His house! Peter can barely keep it together in school, what will happen if Ned comes into his _house__? _He knows he's planning his own demise, knows it well, but he can't help it when he says, "We can meet in my apartment if that's cool."

(If it's _cool_, Peter? Jesus, you need to get better at this.)

"Okay," Ned agrees easily before he's digging in his backpack again and coming back out with a dinky looking phone. "Here, what's your address? Or you can give me your number and text it to me."

Peter's phone is equally or maybe, even more, dinkier than Ned's and he pulls it out of his back pocket bashfully. He recites his number off to Ned and then types in his address as quickly as he can. He's in a rush to get out of this situation so maybe he can actually breathe properly again, but at the same time, he's burning for something more out of Ned. What, he doesn't know. He doesn't know if he wants to find out. 

"Okay, settled, I'll see you after school then?"

Peter gathers his things in a rush. "Okay," he agrees weakly. 

He bolts out the door before he can find out what else he wanted out of Ned. 

* * *

The science project goes well. Their ideas come together to form a beautiful harmony and it's reflected in their presentation and in their grade. The getting there, however... Peter doesn't understand how he can feel so horrified and happy all at once. Ned has no problem being close to him: leaning over his shoulder to look at his textbook, sitting as close as he can get to Peter without touching him, smiling over at him when they get an answer right in a way that makes Peter's stomach flutter. He's glad it's over, in a way, so happy that he won't have to come up with any more excuses for his blushing cheeks or tied tongue. But, again, he burns somewhere in his ribcage for more interactions with Ned, more smiles or words or jokes from him. He craves the way he makes his heart stop as much as he wishes it would never happen again.

"What's got you down, Pete?" May says from the doorway of their living room. 

Peter is curled up in their armchair with his head on in his hands, facing the window and looking sorrowful. Longing makes him melodramatic. "I don't know if I wanna tell you yet," he says, muffled into his hands. 

"How come?" May asks as she moves to take a seat on the couch next to the armchair. 

Peter huffs. "I don't know if I'm ready to admit it to myself or if... if I know what it really is," he concludes. 

"Well, talking might help you figure it out, but only if you're sure. You don't have to say if you don't want to."

Peter glances back at May and sees her kind, patient expression. It makes him feel clammy, knowing what he's about to confess. It makes him feel even clammier knowing _who _he's confessing about. "I think I have a crush?" 

"Okay," May says slowly. "Why do you think that?"

He feels his stomach flutter again in an anxious stir. "I... sometimes I can't stand to be around them, because they make me feel so—so weird. But I also never want them to leave. Does that make sense?" He asks unsurely. 

"Yeah, Pete," May says with a small smile. "It makes sense. I think you're right, you do have a crush. How long has it been going on for?"

Peter thinks briefly. "Almost as long as I've known them."

"Wow," May says incredulously before she's immediately interrupted by Peter's panicked "What? Is that bad? Should it have been shorter?" 

May stands up and perches on the arm of the chair next to Peter, draping an arm around his shoulders. "No, Pete, it's okay, you're just fine. It's just an awfully long time to like someone to not be sure, is all," she soothes gently.

Peter breathes a sigh of relief. "Sorry," he says sheepishly. "I've just never dealt with this type of thing before."

"I know," May says. "I'm glad you felt like you could tell me, my love."

He leans his head on her shoulder tiredly. "Me too. I don't know what to do now, though."

"You could tell him?"

"Well, I don't know, what if he doesn't - hey! May!"

May raises her hands innocently. "What'd I say?"

"You said - him. May, do you know who it is?" He asks accusingly. 

Her eyebrow quirks just a little and it makes Peter want to curl into a ball. "I have my suspicions..." 

"Oh my god, you knew this whole time? And you didn't even tell me?"

"I thought you knew!" She defends. "It seemed pretty obvious to me."

This time Peter leans his head on her shoulder in exasperation. "Oh my god, May..."

"_Do _you want to tell him?" May asks.

"I don't know," he whispers into the fabric of her shirt. "What if I ruin everything? He's my best friend." 

May presses her lips to his head as she speaks. "If he's your best friend you won't ruin anything. You could ever make it better than it is now."

"I'm so scared," he admits. 

"I know," May says gently. "I know. But nothing's gonna happen if you keep it inside, it'll only make you feel worse. Okay?"

Peter nods very slightly. "Okay," he agrees. 

* * *

He very much does not feel _okay _right now. 

It's their lunch period. He is sitting with Ned at their table, like always. It had been a pretty good day so far, actually, if he didn't count the way his brain was going a mile a minute, trying to find the best time to tell Ned his secret, zoning in on every move he made, even more than normal, freezing up whenever Ned got too close. His brain went into override the closer Ned got, sending him down a flurry of thoughts about whether he knew what he was doing, if he did it on purpose, or if he knew and was tantalizing Peter. If he knew and was trying to get him to say so he could laugh in his face and walk away from him. 

He's up out of his seat before he even realizes it, and the distant sound of Ned's questioning, _hey, where are you going_, fades until all he can hear is his heartbeat pounding. He needs to be alone, he needs to be somewhere quiet where he can calm his breathing and his heart rate, but the walk to the bathroom keeps getting further and further away and he's down on the floor before he knows. He scoots back against the wall of lockers and closes his eyes, tries to focus on the way the cool of the metal soaks through the fabric of his t-shirt, feels the ground beneath him, recognizes where he is. He's alone in the hallway and he knows loitering here isn't permitted, and he knows he needs to hurry up and head back to the lunchroom, but the quiet here is so blissful, and he closes his eyes once more and just breathes it in. 

"Hey," Ned says from above him. 

_Shit._

"Are you okay?" He asks, holding a hand out for him and it's just like that day outside again, but this time Peter wishes he hadn't seen it at all. He thinks he might throw up if Ned touches him now. He nods wordlessly and doesn't look up at Ned. 

"Are you sure?" Ned asks as he slides down next to him on the floor. "You freaked me out when you up and left."

Peter really wishes—and he means it this time—that Ned could leave him alone. 

"I'm fine," He says shakily. "I'm fine," he repeats more firmly. "You should go back to lunch before someone sees us."

"No, why? So you can be the one who gets in trouble? No way. I'll go back if you go back."

Peter closes his eyes again and tries to gather himself. He uses his right hand for stability as he makes to stand, but his knees buckle and he falls back on the floor. 

"Peter, are you sure you're okay?" Ned asks quietly, concern audible in his voice. "Maybe we should go to the nurse's office."

"No, I'm -" he pauses as he stands up and does it properly this time. "I'm fine. Let's just go." 

Ned looks at him, unconvinced. "If you say so," he says, but Peter's already making his way down the hall. 

_You blew that, _Peter thinks. _How are you gonna be able to tell him if you blew that?_

* * *

"Hey!" May greets him as he opens the passenger door and hurries into his seat. "How was it?"

Peter slumps back as he buckles his seatbelt. "I had a panic attack before I could even figure out how to say it."

"Oh," May says sympathetically. She lays a hand on Peter's shoulder and says, "Hey, I'm sorry, Pete. Are you okay now?"

Peter nods, but when he looks up at her there are tears in his eyes. 

"Oh, honey," she says and hugs him over the center console. "It'll be okay," she whispers. "It's gonna be okay." 

Peter pulls back and slumps in his seat again. "I don't wanna deal with this anymore."

"I know," May says. "What if we take your mind off of it for a while, hm? We can go get ice cream, or froyo, whichever one you want, and go to that store with all the banged-up video equipment you like?"

"Froyo," Peter says softly. "But that's all I wanna do. I just want to be in bed," he tells May. 

She looks over at him apprehensively. "Okay, we can do that. You choose the radio station?"

Peter's lips quirk up for just a second, but May sees it and it's all she needs.

* * *

They took their froyo to go, now sprawled out on their couch in a pile of blankets while they eat it, discussing ways for Peter to tell Ned. 

"You could invite him over," May thinks out loud. "I could order Thai, you guys could go in your room and you can show him all your Star Wars stuff, and then you can just say _I love you _and he'll be all _I know_, like in the one where Han and Leia say that to each other!" 

Peter's cheeks flush and he hides his head beneath his blanket. 

"What?" May says. "Bad idea?"

"Too forward," Peter says from beneath his safety net. 

"Okay," May ponders. "How about... you set it up as a secret? Everyone wants to know about secrets, and then you won't get to chicken out." 

Peter pokes his head out. "It _is _a secret."

"Right! So the setup wouldn't be too far from the truth. Good idea?"

He sighs and sinks his head into the pillow. "I guess."

"Perfect," May sighs happily. "I should be a professional."

Peter chucks his pillow at her for that comment.

* * *

"Hey, are you free after school?" Peter says abruptly when silence falls in their conversation at lunch the next day. He tries to tell himself being forward is better than beating around the bush. 

Ned looks at him in surprise. "I don't know, what for?"

"My aunt's been asking about you. She says she wants to meet you so she can, you know, make sure you're a good influence." Peter may not be good at dealing with this whole thing but no one ever said he couldn't bullshit well. 

"Oh," Ned says. "I have to check with my mom, but that should work. I'll let you know after I find out, alright?"

Peter ignores the way that makes his heart pick up in favor of saying, "Okay." At least the ball's in motion now. 

He spends the next four hours thinking about that ball. He can't just tell Ned he got the day wrong, he'd see through that. He also can't let May down again for no reason other than his own cowardice, because he'd pinky-promised her last night that he would tell Ned today. He hasn't broken a pinky-promise with her since he moved in and he doesn't want to start now. 

When he sits down at the steps again, he can't stop his leg from shaking. He's so deep in his thoughts that he jumps about five feet in the air when Ned sits down next to him and says, "Hey, what's up with your leg?"

"Oh my god," Peter says under his breath. "Uh, nothing, I just do it when I'm bored. Anyway."

Ned nods, seemingly satisfied with that answer. "Okay, so, my mom said I can come over tonight but she wants me home by seven. Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Peter agrees, too quickly. "Yeah, that'll work."

Will it work? Can he muster up the courage to tell Ned to his face that he likes him in only two hours? Will he even make it through without backing out?"

"Okay, great," Ned says. 

"That's my aunt," Peter says as May's blue, rusted car pulls up at the curb. He makes no effort to get up, though. "Oh, that's my aunt," he says and then stands up quickly. 

May rolls down the passenger window and says, "Hi, Pete! Hi, Ned, I'm Peter's Aunt May, nice to meet you."

"Hi, nice to meet you too, Aunt May," Ned says as he opens the back door. 

May motions silently for Peter to sit in the backseat with him and he moves uncoordinatedly to the other side of the car, where he slides in and sets his backpack on the floor. There's a reasonable distance between him and Ned, back here, so hopefully, that'll prevent any problems from arising before they've even made it to the apartment. 

"Okay, everybody buckled?" May says as she rolls the window up and puts the car in drive. 

They make it to their apartment safe. May tells them they can go to Peter's room while they wait for the Thai to be delivered. They start to walk down the hallway before Peter feels a tug on his arm. May motions him over. 

"Are you ready to do this?" She whispers. 

"No," Peter answers bluntly.

"You're gonna do great, I know you are," she assures him. "And hey, keep the door open, okay?"

"May!" Peter groans as he walks away to catch up with Ned.

"Love you!" She shouts as Peter shuts the door quietly. 

"Sorry," Peter says, looking to Ned who is sat on his bottom bunk. 

Ned toes his shoes off. "Don't be, she seems so cool."

"Yeah, she is," Peter says as he takes a seat at his desk chair. Here it is, now, time to face the music, but his head is empty of any possible words to say. Thankfully, Ned talks so he doesn't have to.

"Hey, are those Star Wars figures?" He says excitedly, his gaze turned to Peter's highest shelf. 

"Yeah," Peter starts, and it's easy from there, talking. They discuss their theories, whether the prequels were justified, who the best villain is. He doesn't even know how much time has passed and he doesn't really even think to care, because being with Ned feels different this time. There are none of the feelings he'd described to May, he doesn't wish Ned would leave or that he'd never see him again. No, he doesn't want them to _stop _talking, he doesn't want seven o'clock to roll around or for the delivery guy to ring their doorbell. He doesn't want anything to interrupt this perfect atmosphere he's discovered. 

"I've never been able to talk with someone about Star Wars for that long," Ned sighs as he leans back against Peter's pillows. It gives him a funny feeling in his stomach, how comfortable Ned seems in Peter's space. He likes it. 

"Then you've been talking to the wrong people," Peter laughs and Ned does too, and Peter thinks it's time, now. He thinks it's alright to say what he needs to. He thinks it's safe. 

He stands up from his chair and lays parallel to Ned, his feet on the pillows and his head at the foot of the bed. "Hey," he starts. "How do you feel about secrets?"

"Secrets?" Ned's head perks up and it's _adorable_, Peter thinks to himself. He looks like a puppy with his head like that. "I love secrets."

Peter chuckles only a little hesitantly. "Well, good, 'cause this is a big one."

"Okay, hit me," Ned says, moving to sit up with his legs crossed. 

Peter feels a little more than only a little hesitant now, with how intrigued Ned looks, how close he is and how intensely he's looking at Peter. "So," Peter begins, and scoots up, too, to put some distance between the two of them. 

He doesn't know how to segway into this. Should he be forward? May would tell him to be. But he's not May, he's Peter, and he's not as sure and confident as May is. So he decides on, "I'm really glad you came tonight."

"That's it?" Ned says, unimpressed. 

"Uh, I'm not finished yet, Ned," he says and Ned closes his mouth. "I'm really glad you came tonight and I'm really glad you're having fun. I'm really glad I asked you. I'm really glad we sat next to each other on the bus in the first place, because..." he trails off. 

Ned motions for him to get on with it. 

"Because, Ned, you remember when I left lunch and was acting weird in the hallway?'

"Yeah," Ned says, not following. 

"Yeah, it's because I was freaked out that day. May had told me to do something that I needed to do, but it was really scaring me. But she said nothing would come out of keeping it to myself. And what I needed to do was... tell you something. I needed to tell you, Ned, that I," he closes his eyes and braces for the worst. "That I like you," he whispers. 

It is silent for a long moment. Peter is too scared to open his eyes but he doesn't need to have them open to know that Ned is moving closer to him. He doesn't need to open his eyes to know that Ned is taking his hand gently in his. 

It feels—good. It feels very good to feel Ned's warm skin in contrast with his own clammy hand. It feels like everything he's felt since that first day on the bus, everything he's dealt with in the time between was worth it. But he doesn't know that for sure, because Ned still hasn't said anything. 

"Hey," Ned says gently. "Hey," he says again and Peter looks up at him slowly. "Me too," he says, looking into Peter's eyes. "Me too," he repeats. 

Peter breathes a heavy sigh of relief and laughs despite himself. "Oh my god," he gasps. "You're joking," he wheezes. "You can't be serious."

"I am?" Ned says, confused.

"So you're saying -" he laughs hysterically again, "that every time I thought I was being crazy, every time I thought you were coming too close to me, it was on purpose?"

Ned laughs a little now, too. "Yeah," he says. "You just thought you were imagining it?"

"Yeah!" Peter says, tears in his eyes as another fit bubbles up and out of him. "Oh my god!"

"Shut up," Ned says even though he's laughing too. "Peter, shut up."

Peter is only egged on more at Ned's comments, rolling around his bed wildly, gasping for air every few seconds. 

"Peter," Ned tries again, "Peter, shut up!"

"I can't!" Peter gasps out. "I can't stop!"

Ned gives him a look he can't decipher because his eyes are closed again as he giggles. He doesn't see the way Ned crawls closer to his still moving body, doesn't notice when Ned's hand lays gently on his neck. 

"Shut up," Ned whispers and leans down to kiss Peter's open mouth. He doesn't even stop—not for a few seconds, at least, his laughs coming out muted as they're muffled against Ned's lips. 

"Oh," he says into both of their mouths. "Oh," he says again and opens his eyes wide. He doesn't even close his mouth because he's so shocked.

"Peter," Ned mutters. "Peter," he says and kisses him again. Peter gets it, this time, he does. He closes his mouth against Ned's and holds himself there, lets his eyes fall closed as his heart seemingly beats out of his chest. He doesn't ever want to stop, he'd be okay staying like this forever, but Ned pulls away even as Peter chases his mouth. 

"You're so stupid," he says breathlessly. 

Peter tries to respond but his words come out in an incoherent jumble. Ned laughs at him and sits back. 

"That's not—" Peter tries. He takes a deep breath before he says, "That's not fair, you can't laugh at me. You did that to me."

Ned grins wide, ear to ear. "I know."

"_You're _stupid," Peter says as he shoves his shoulder. He stays laying where he is, figures this is where he'll be until his blush fades and his heart rate returns to normal.

"Boys! Food's here!" Comes May's voice from the kitchen. 

Peter and Ned share a glance at the exact same time and laugh at their appearances. "Is she gonna know?" Ned asks as he stands up.

"Definitely," Peter says through a smile as Ned reaches to help him out of the bed, and he takes his hand this time. It feels right. 

* * *

"So," May says, looking at Peter expectantly. Ned has literally only just walked out the door of their apartment complex, and Peter can tell she's trying to contain her excitement.

"So," Peter echoes, trying to play it cool as they begin their walk back up to their apartment. 

"Peter!" May says impatiently. "Tell me what happened!"

Peter looks at May for a second before his gaze is cast down to the floor. He tries to ignore the blush that rises to his cheeks again as he says, "I told him."

"Yeah, Pete, get to the meat of it now."

"I told him. And it was so scary, May, I was so scared. But he—he likes me too. May, he _kissed me_," he says in a shocked whisper like he's only just processed the information himself. 

May looks at him with her eyes wide and her jaw hanging open. "Peter."

"I know!" 

"_Peter! _He kissed you?"

Peter nods his head in disbelief. "What'd you do?!"

"Kissed him back?" Peter answers. Well, not at first. I was laughing at first."

May gives him a dirty look. "Why were you _laughing_?"

"'Cause I just! I just couldn't believe he liked me back. I was just laughing at how ridiculous all of it was. And he kept telling me to shut up but I wouldn't so he kissed me, which didn't really work until it did."

"Oh my god," May says in a tone Peter knows all too well. "Oh my god, you're getting so old."

Peter looks back at her in bewilderment as they walk into their apartment. "You're the one who told me to do this!"

"I know," May says regretfully. "It's just 'cause you looked so sad so I said what I thought would make it better, what have I done?"

Peter comes up to hug her and kiss her cheek. "You've made it better, is what you've done."

"Okay, okay," she says, shoving him away playfully.

"Thank you, May," Peter says in a serious tone. "I'm serious. I never would have done anything about it if I hadn't told you about it."

May softens immediately. "Of course, Pete. Of course. You can always talk to me about it, no matter what it is. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know that," Peter tells her quietly as he sits down on the armchair again. 

"Good," May says as she joins him on the couch. "He better not get in the way of your school, though," she says under her breath as she begins to scroll through the TV channels. 

"May!" Peter groans and looks away from her. 

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I'm sorry, I won't say stuff like that anymore. I'm sorry. Would you look at me?"

Peter turns to face her slowly with an apprehensive look on his face. "Yes?"

"I love you," she says with a silly smile.

Peter rolls his eyes but he's smiling too. "Love you, May."

* * *

"Did she know?" Ned asks on the bus that Monday morning after he'd been to Peter's house. The two-day weekend seemed to drag on in a way Peter had never felt before. It seemed like a perfect curse, giving Peter the perfect amount of time to overthink and doubt everything Ned had said to him. But when he slides in next to Ned on their designated bench, he reaches over and takes his hand and brings them into his lap without a second thought. 

"Ned, she totally knew. She asked me about it as soon as you were out the door." 

"Does she approve?" Ned asks.

Peter gives Ned that same look of bewilderment he'd given May. "She's the whole reason I _told _you, of course she approves. Although she did make a comment about how old I'm getting after I told her what happened."

"Oh, so she _knows _knows."

Peter nods. "She knows knows, we're really close."

"Okay," Ned says, satisfied with that answer. "That's great."

"Yeah, it is," Peter says. He smiles the whole way to school, and Ned doesn't let go of his hand once. 

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i'm sorry i've been absent the past couple days. i have a lot going on academically and in life right now so trying to catch up took the back burner and will probably stay there for a while until i get my head above water. i'm really gonna try to at least finish fictober on time, but i can't guarantee when i'll catch up. hope that's ok! <3
> 
> day twelve finally! i hope you enjoyed i've never written a getting together fic before and i really really enjoyed this so i hope u did too! also i just realized this takes the cake for the longest fic i've posted wow let's celebrate that
> 
> love u all here's where to find me:  
hcllnd on twit & tumblr  
ree182 on spotify for interwebs playlist


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